Arcane Innovator

"Now, for your final Trial, you'll form groups of five!" The overseer's voice sounded across the large chamber, silencing the quiet murmurs of the applicants gathered before her.

Shortly after telling us the results, we were then promptly escorted into a different room that looked almost identical to the previous one, complete with another huge glowing magic circle carved into the stone floor.

'Another one, huh?' This could mean only one thing - that the third Trial would also occur inside an illusory realm.

So, hearing the overseer's command, I started to make my way over to the shy-looking girl, whose name I learned was Lancia, as she looked like the most competent of the bunch- apart from the haughty boy, that is. However, the young mage's next words made me freeze.

"But, to make it fair, the first five of you who successfully completed the second Trial shall be made captains and will select their teams by draw!"

'Wait, what?' I blinked, staring incredulously at the still-smiling mage. 'What do you mean to be made captains?'

So far, I have always depended solely on myself. Thus, having to operate within a party would already be bad enough, but being forced to lead one, on top of that - me of all people- was taking it a little too far.

However, there was nothing I could do about it but obey. So, before long, I found myself standing in line with the other captains, looking tentatively at the twenty applicants neatly lined before us.

While helplessly wondering who to choose, I paused, tilting my head to the side in confusion since I had noticed something strange. 'Wait, weren't there twenty-six of us?'

I did a double-take, and it looked like one applicant was missing. 'I guess they must have sent someone to join a different group to even out the numbers.' I thought.

'Well, that's not important right now. I need to come up with a suitable strategy for this.' I thought, focusing back on the task at hand.

"Darian of Ereneth, make your choice..." The overseer said impatiently.

'Oh, right!' I forgot that I was supposed to go first.

Everyone stared at me in curiosity, wanting to know who I would pick. It was certainly not helping. Nevertheless, without hesitation, I cleared my throat and, trying to sound confident, proclaimed, "Edwin!"

The boy in question simply nodded as if expecting to be chosen before making his way over to me.

The first round was a no-brainer. Since only eight of us managed to finish the challenge at all, and the first five were made captains, it was only logical to go after the remaining rankers.

Since I had the privilege of a first choice, I unmistakenly went for the one in sixth place. After me, it was Tristan's turn, who unsurprisingly did the same, going for the boy who ended up in seventh place. Lastly, Lancia went for the girl in eighth place, and that was it.

From now on, all that we had to go on was our gut feeling as, sadly, the remaining applicants were simply teleported out at the end of the Trial all at once, so we had no idea how far the rest got.

The last two captains, both lanky-looking boys of noble descent, frantically fought over the few remaining nobles, so when it was again my turn to choose, all that was left was a ragtag group of nervous-looking commoners.

Not that I was complaining; with nobles, there was always too much drama to be worth it. The peasants would at least be pliable and listen to orders without their big-ass egos getting in the way.

Everyone seemed apprehensive- the captains, for having to choose at random afraid they might unknowingly screw themselves over, and the others, likewise, for having to place their destiny into the hands of strangers.

Meanwhile, my eyes lazily moved across the crowd of applicants as I wondered who to choose next. The only thing I could go on was their looks; sadly, nobody looked particularly impressive.

'That beefy-looking boy in the back seems somewhat promising... He looks a bit dense but would make an excellent meatshield.' I mused as I tried to form a list of priorities.

Still, in an all-mage team, the role of a tank seemed a bit redundant as, for example, the earth wall spell could perform the same job just fine.

In the worst case, I was confident I could carry the whole party on my own, whatever the challenge, but I was reluctant to reveal the true extent of my magic as I already had too much attention on me after that little oversight in the book maze.

That said, if the last test had taught me something, it was the value of sharp wits. So I skipped past all the richly dressed city-dwellers in the front and went for the scrawny girl in the back.

She was quite average-looking, but what interested me was her quiet confidence with which she carried herself and also her leathery, worn-out clothing.

It was fairly obvious that she must have been the daughter of a hunter or traveling merchant—either way, no stranger to the wilderness, which I figured may come in handy.

Edwin raised an eyebrow at my choice but didn't comment on it otherwise. The selection continued, and by the end of the second round, all the capable-looking candidates were gone.

At this point, it didn't really matter who I chose, so I picked the last two members based on who looked the most promising.

"You've formed your groups, and now it's time for the final Trial to begin!" The overseer proclaimed, bringing the selection to an end.

"However, contrary to the previous challenge, everyone will be transported into the same arena this time. Your teams will be competing against each other, and the best one shall receive a special reward." She added before signaling us to move forward into the glowing formation.

I saw the greed reflected in everyone's eyes at this announcement and realized that the real challenge was about to begin. I took a deep breath and glanced back, going over my newly formed party one last time.

'I think we stand a pretty good chance if I could say so myself...' I smiled, confident that I managed to put together a fairly balanced team.

First was the sole noble on our team, Edwin—the boy who ended up in sixth place, whom I internally nicknamed the "Sage."

He was quite timid and scrawny but had an unmistakable scholarly air about him. This, combined with the fact that he actually managed to complete the maze, made him quite valuable in my eyes.

Next was the lanky-looking girl Aida, whom I nicknamed "Scout one," as I planned to have her moving at the head, hoping she could detect any traps along the way.

Then there was the second girl, Inge, whom I nicknamed "Scout two." She looked like a typical village girl but seemed quite agile. I could notice the contours of muscles peaking from underneath her crude, bulky dress, which suggested she could probably hold her own in a brawl.

So, in case there would be any fighting, I planned for her to join Aida in performing flanking maneuvers on the enemy while the rest of us held the line.

The fourth member was a boy named Gil. He looked the least capable out of our party as, at that point, there was nothing much left to choose from.

Still, his gaze had a certain shrewdness that caught my attention, and I was hoping he could serve as another pair of eyes in case of any puzzles or riddles.

Lastly, there was me—the captain. I planned to fill in the role of an all-rounder to shore up any deficiencies that may crop up.

'Alright, it's show time!' I thought while signaling to the others to get a move on. I was fairly pleased with how the selection went, but only time would tell if my assumptions were right.

Before stepping into the magic circle, I also briefly glanced at the other teams to see how we stacked up to them.

The haughty boy, Tristan, unsurprisingly, went for the most noble-like team that was full of richly dressed kids and was now looking especially smug.

On the other hand, Lancia went for an all-girl team comprised of half nobles and half commoners. 'Is she one of those girls with an aversion to men?' I thought amusingly but decided not to dwell on it any further.

I didn't bother checking the remaining two captains, as all they got were the leftovers, so I didn't consider them much of a threat.

'Wait... Why do I think about this as a competition? It's just a stupid test, is it not?'

At first, I didn't think about it this way, but now that I finished the previous test first and Tristan seemed hell-bent on beating me, it brought out some seemingly hidden competitive nature from within.

Also, I didn't miss my selected teammates' expectant looks, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of responsibility not to let down their hopes. 'Is this what a leader is supposed to feel?'

It was all new to me, but I decided to go with the flow for now; I was already seen as a prodigy, so I might as well see this through.

With that, I took one last deep breath and led my very first party into the shimmering portal.

***

When I opened my eyes, the first thing I noticed was the damp stone walls of what looked like a natural cave looming all around us, dimly lit by flickering torches that cast eerie shadows on the uneven floor.

The air was cold and moist, and I noticed a faint smell of rot. I tightened the grip on my scepter-wand as I cautiously turned around. Despite it being quite dark, I immediately spotted three dark corridors splitting up a short distance ahead, and a realization dawned on me.

'What the hell... another maze? Is this some kind of joke?' was my first thought, but it began to make sense when I thought about it some more. 'They are probably trying to prepare us for the Great Labyrinth.'

'Alright, time to choose a path...'